While fan reaction to the initial announcement of Michael Bisping (21-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) vs. Jorge Rivera (19-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) as the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC 127 event in Australia was a tad apathetic, the two fighters worked hard to change all that before it was time to enter the octagon.

In fact, through a series of Internet videos and interviews, Bisping and Rivera developed an intense rivalry that was evident from weigh-in to final bell.

But while Bisping earned a second-round TKO in the matchup, Rivera’s camp believes his actions during and after the fight were anything but admirable. Bisping says they should just get over it.

“He was very, very insulting towards me – very insulting,” Bisping said at UFC 127’s post-event press conference. “He was mocking me on the Internet. He was saying all kinds of things, making stupid videos talking about myself and my family – all kinds of stuff. I bit my tongue and said nothing, but it just kind of blew up inside me, and I blew up a little bit. I apologize for that.

“I shouldn’t behave like that, but I think he just needs to accept he got beat and get over it.”

Rivera and his camp put together a series of videos designed to up the public’s interest in the middleweight matchup. Mission accomplished, but Bisping feels the skits and monologues crossed a line by insulting his family, questioning his nationality and just generally insulting the Brit in every way imaginable.

Bisping said the remarks were simply too much, and while they ultimately assisted in his preparation process, the comments also struck a nerve, and he simply couldn’t contain himself.

“He definitely motivated me,” Bisping said. “It made me train harder. Trash-talk is part of the game. You’ve got to take that on chin sometimes, which I should have done a little bet better.

“I did let it get to me a little too much. As I said, I apologize for that, but I’m an emotional guy, and I wear my heart on my sleeve. Everything that comes out of my mouth I mean from the heart.”

Rivalry can often make for exciting fights, and Bisping and Rivera appeared to be creating just that. But in the closing minutes of the first round, Bisping delivered an illegal knee to a kneeling Rivera that cost him a point and nearly ended the fight.

While Rivera supporters believe the move was thrown with obvious malice, Bisping insisted the strike was an ill-timed accident.

“The knee certainly wasn’t on purpose,” Bisping said. “You get excited in the heat of the fight. He was getting up off the ground. I had him in a Thai clinch. I was waiting to time it to knee him in the head. I got a little over-excited and pulled the trigger too early. It happens quite a lot. It’s a fast-moving sport.

“I certainly didn’t mean to do it, and I was very glad that the fight was able to continue. No one wants to see a fight won or lost in that fashion.”

Indeed, Rivera did carry on despite appearing to still be a touch rattled from the blow. He made until the bell, but Bisping swarmed in the second round and earned the TKO victory.

But while rivals sometimes bury their beef in the cage, Bisping maintained his heated disposition, and Rivera’s camp claims “The Count” spit on his opponent’s coaches after the win.

“For all his talk of being a professional, Bisping spit on Rivera’s coaches when the fight was over,” read a statement from Rivera’s camp sent to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “How can you claim to be a professional after that?”

Bisping admits he let himself get carried away but denied going too far.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Bisping said of Rivera’s camp’s claims. “It’s just one classless move after another, I suppose.”

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.